Bentonites are considered to be the most suitable materials for the multibarrier system of high-level radioactive waste repositories. Since BCV bentonite has been proved to be an ideal representative of Czech Ca-Mg bentonites in this respect, it has been included in the Czech Radioactive Waste Repository Authority (SÚRAO) buffer and backfill R&D programme. Detailed knowledge of processes in the material induced by thermal loading provides invaluable assistance regarding the evolution of the material under repository conditions. Samples of both original BCV 2017 bentonite and the same material thermally treated at 200 °C were characterised by means of chemical analysis, powder X-ray diffraction, infrared spectroscopy, thermal analysis, cation exchange capacity, specific surface area (BET) measurements, the determination of the swell index, the liquid limit, the swelling pressure and water retention curves. The smectite in BCV 2017 bentonite comprises Ca-Mg montmorillonite with a significant degree of Fe³⁺ substitution in the octahedral sheet. Two main transformation processes were observed following heating at 200 °C over 27 months, the first of which comprised the dehydration of the montmorillonite and the subsequent reduction of the 001 basal distance from 14.5 Å (the original BCV 2017) to 9.8 Å, thus indicating the absence of water molecules in the interlayer space. The second concerned the dehydration and partial dehydroxylation of goethite. With the exception of the dehydration of the interlayer space, the PXRD and FTIR study revealed the crystallochemical stability of the montmorillonite in BCV 2017 bentonite under the selected experimental conditions. The geotechnical tests indicated no major changes in the mechanical properties of the thermally treated BCV 2017 bentonite, as demonstrated by the similar swelling pressure values. However, the variation in the swell index and the gradual increase in the liquid limit with the wetting time indicated a lower hydration rate. The retention curves consistently showed the lower retention capacity of the thermally treated samples, thus indicating the incomplete re-hydration of the thermally treated BCV 2017 exposed to air humidity and the difference in its behaviour compared to the material exposed to liquid water.

Crystal structure of the skutterudite-related phase has been refined by the Rietveld method from X-ray powder diffraction data. Refined crystallographic data for CoSn _1.5 Te _1.5 are a =12.9063(2) Å, c =15.7837(3) Å, V =2276.89(4) Å ³ , space group R 3 (No. 148), Z =24, and D _x =7.50 g/cm ³ . The crystal structure of the title compound can be viewed as a modification of the skutterudite structure (CoAs ₃ )—it is isostructural with CoGe _1.5 Te _1.5 and IrSn _1.5 Te _1.5 . In the structure of CoSn _1.5 Te _1.5 , the Sn and Te atoms exhibit long-range ordering, which results in lowering of the original cubic symmetry of the skutterudite structure to the trigonal one.

This paper brings an innovative processing route of manganese deep-sea nodules, which results in completely new grades of alloys. Deep-sea nodules were processed by aluminothermic method without the extraction of individual elements, producing complexly alloyed manganese-based “natural alloys”. Three levels of the amount of aluminum were used for the aluminothermic reduction, and hence the alloys differ strongly in the amount of aluminum, which has a significant effect on their phase composition. The alloys have very high wear resistance, comparable with tool steel. The disadvantage of low-aluminum alloy is the susceptibility to local thermal cracking during friction, which occurs especially in the case of a dry sliding wear against the static partner with low thermal conductivity.

The petrography and mineral chemistry of the coarse-grained, weakly porphyritic (muscovite-) biotite Říčany granite (Variscan Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex, Bohemian Massif) were studied in order to assess the distribution of major and trace elements among its minerals, with consequences for granite petrogenesis and availability of geochemical species during supergene processes. It is demonstrated that chemistry-based approaches are the best suited for modal analyses of granites, especially methods taking into account compositions of whole-rock samples as well as their mineral constituents, such as constrained least-squares algorithm. They smooth out any local variations (mineral zoning, presence of phenocrysts, schlieren…) and are robust in respect to the presence of phenocrysts or fabrics. The study confirms the notion that the accessory phases play a key role in incorporation of many elements during crystallization of granitic magmas. Especially the REE seem of little value in petrogenetic modelling, unless the role of accessories is properly assessed and saturation models for apatite, zircon, monazite±rutile carefully considered. At the same time, the presence of several P-, Zr- and LREE-bearing phases may have some important consequences for saturation thermometry of apatite, zircon and monazite.